


long way home

by basementrituals



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Illustrations, M/M, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27429910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basementrituals/pseuds/basementrituals
Summary: dennis is back from north dakota.set immediately after s13e01(now illustrated)-mac doesn't look away from him. he's thin, and he looks tired more than anything: his dark eyes reflect nothing from the buzzing streetlights, face pale and gaunt. dennis flicks his gaze sideways and catches mac staring, and mac quickly looks away, scrunching his face up nervously. they walk a few more blocks in uncomfortable silence, until the familiar brick facade of their apartment comes into view.
Relationships: Mac McDonald/Dennis Reynolds
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

they leave the bar after 2 a.m, drunkenly stepping out onto the sidewalk together. mac casts a sidelong glance towards the charred husk of the range rover, grimacing slightly as he rattles off a brief, silent prayer that dennis won't notice it in the corner of the street. thankfully, he doesn't even look up as they stumble past it.

"shit -" dennis hisses as he trips over an uneven patch of concrete, bracing himself on mac's shoulder.

mac hesitates, slowing down until dennis regains his composure and drops his hand away, "you good, man?"

"i'm good," he replies quietly, "wish i had a cigarette."

mac turns toward him slightly, eyebrows cocked, "i thought you quit like, 10 years ago dude."

"yea, well..." dennis huffs, staring blankly ahead.

mac doesn't look away from him. he's thin, and he looks tired more than anything: his dark eyes reflect nothing from the buzzing streetlights, face pale and gaunt. dennis flicks his gaze sideways and catches mac staring, and mac quickly looks away, scrunching his face up nervously. they walk a few more blocks in uncomfortable silence, until the familiar brick facade of their apartment comes into view.

"can we, um - can we stay out here for a little bit?" dennis returns his gaze to the pavement, hunching down slightly, "i'll tell you what happened, i promise."

"sure," mac glances around cautiously, "if you want, dude."

they sit on the curb in the soft incandescent light cast from the entrance of their building. mac's shoulders are tense as he does a quick scan, squinting at the shadowy alleyways between the other buildings.

"its fine, mac. there's nobody else here." dennis sighs, pressing his hands to his eyes before rubbing his temples, "do you remember when we quarantined ourselves in the bar, and frank locked us in the bathroom?"

mac actually laughs, "shit, yea, how could i forget? i've never been so sick in my life. i thought you were gonna die."

"alcohol withdrawals," dennis nods, "the first part of them, anyway. they get way worse."

mac looks at him curiously.

"next is DTs - paranoia, hallucinations. seizures. i didn't realize," he closes his eyes, flexes his jaw, "and mandy had to take me to the hospital."

"dennis..."

"and i already, you know..." he takes a deep breath, waves his hands plaintively. mac did know, dennis was a man with a tenuous grasp on sanity and stability in the best conditions.

"so that was the first week."

"dennis," mac says, too sympathetically, "you were gone for almost a year."

"i kept trying!" dennis snaps, "i wanted to be a dad, a good dad," his voice wavers, "but shit just kept going wrong. in fargo, she had this - this little house."

mac feels his stomach drop when he pictures it, _the suburbs._

"she gave me the spare room, i was supposed to find my own place, but i never did. every night, it was so quiet, i would just -" the memory still feels so fresh and vivid, he grits his teeth together, "i would go sit in the car and scream. i couldn't deal with it, you know?"

mac frowns, thinks about the door in their apartment that he hasn't opened in 11 months, "i know."

"after a while i, um," dennis mutters, his chest feels tight, and the words won't come. it's harder than he thought it would be, "it got really bad, and she thought..maybe i should come back to philly."

mac doesn't press for details, not right now. they're both quiet for a minute. mac has a look like he wants to say something, but dennis breaks the silence first, "it wasn't all bad. mandy was understanding, to say the least. she's a really good cook, too," he leans almost imperceptibly towards mac, "way better than you. and that kid - my kid, man," a smile flashes across his face, but it vanishes almost immediately as he shakes his head, "didn't do a god damn thing wrong to deserve me as his father, that's for sure."

mac makes a weird whimpering laugh sort of noise from the back of his throat, and dennis looks at him for the first time since they sat down here.

"yea, maybe," he chokes out, "but you tried, man. you gave a shit, didn't you? you wanted to be there. that counts for something, right?"

dennis doesn't answer, and the silence stretches between them for a little bit longer this time.

"hey, dennis?" mac casts his eyes down, furrowing his eyebrows.

"what?"

"when it got, uh, bad," mac shifts anxiously, "well, why didn't you call? and you only left me -"

"- with that crisis line number, i remember," dennis leans forward, combs a hand through his hair and stares out towards the street, "i couldn't call. it was too much. and i - i'm sorry, mac."

mac simply nods, pressing his lips together as he begins to stand. dennis follows the movement with his eyes.

"it's late, dude," he extends a hand towards where dennis is still crouched on the curb, "i'm tired, and i'm starting to sober up and it sucks."

mac pulls dennis up to his feet easily, and to his surprise dennis leans softly onto his shoulder, wrapping his arms around mac in a tentative hug.

_"i missed you."_

_"i...yea. i missed you too, den."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first fic i just wanted to see some shit about that first walk home..lmk what you think. thank you. love you


	2. end illustration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wanted to draw sumn for this also : )


End file.
